August 12, 2014

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Channel 20Something by Amy Patrick

From award-winning author and two-time GOLDEN HEART® finalist Amy
Patrick comes a New Adult contemporary series about twenty-somethings
entering the world of TV broadcasting, where what happens behind the
scenes is the real news.

22-year-old Heidi Haynes is almost
one year into her “real life”. She has her first reporting job, her
first apartment, and a comfortable relationship with her college
sweetheart. But for some reason she’s not as eager to talk about walking
down the aisle as he is.

Heidi secretly longs for big cities,
big-market breaking news, and real independence from her
way-too-close-by helicopter parents. Problem is, the last time she left
the security of home for new places and new people, things didn’t go so
well. Disastrously, in fact, and she came running back to a local
college and a “safe” boyfriend.

Aric Serrano is definitely not safe.

He’s
six-feet-four-inches of missing-Hemsworth-brother-hotness and plans to
stay in small-market-Southern-Hell just long enough to grab a cup of
coffee and put together a kick-ass “escape tape”. He’ll serve his
one-year contract, then he’s taking off for a higher rung on the
TV sports ladder—alone—the way he likes it. Then he meets his new
co-anchor.

Heidi would be so much more comfortable if she could
simply ignore Aric. He’s just her type—the type she’s so careful to
avoid these days. But that becomes impossible when she's forced to work
closely with him on the weekend newscast. Now the attraction between
them is growing even faster than the ratings, and what happens behind
the scenes is the real news.

The song segued into another Michael Jackson hit—the DJ must’ve been
encouraged by the sudden influx of dancers to the floor and didn’t want
to take a chance on losing the mojo. Mara jostled me with a hip-bump,
and I laughed, beginning to move to the music more fluidly, relaxing,
enjoying myself more than I had in a long time.

The girls from
the station were spinning and showing off, thrilled to find a guy who
would actually dance, and Aric served as a sort of group-partner for us
all. Though we were all together, every time I glanced up at Aric’s
face, he was watching me. He studied how my body moved, responding to my
motions, matching them with moves of his own. We didn’t touch at all,
but it felt like we were… connected somehow.

After another song
or two, I grew used to the feel of his eyes on me, grew to like it. And
the focused attention made me brave. I sang along with a song I knew,
closing my eyes and moving to the hypnotic beat, as Michael advised me
to let the madness and the music get to me.

“It’s fun to watch you dance.”

The
nearness of Aric’s voice jolted me out of the moment. My eyes opened,
and I took a step back, the seductive warmth of his breath still
caressing my ear. “Um… you too. You’re good.”

He leaned in close
again to be heard over the pounding music, his fingers gripping my
shoulder lightly. “No. I mean I really like watching you.”

I
stopped cold, right there on the dance floor. Literally feeling cold, as
if someone had poured a post-game Gatorade bucket over my head.

“I’m—going to the ladies room.” I spun around and headed for the lighted sign in the back of the club as if the hounds of hell were at my back.

I’d
recognized him. Not him, of course. But I knew what kind of guy he
was—I’d met his breed before. The elite players, the sexual Heisman
candidates, genetic freaks who produced bionic pheromones capable of
turning even the smartest girl stupid, at least temporarily.

How
could I not have seen it right away? The beautiful face, the enticing
scent, the self-assured way he walked and talked and danced. If I
could’ve left the club right then, I would have. But I’d promised to
drive Kenley and Mara home. I couldn’t strand them. I fled to the
restroom and gave myself a narrow-eyed look in the mirror. Not going
there, girlfriend. I did not return to the dance floor.

Amy is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014) who
writes Young Adult fiction as Amy DeLuca and New Adult romance as Amy
Patrick. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two sons and
actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up.
She's been a professional singer and news anchor and currently narrates
audio books as well as working as a station host for a Boston TV
station.